3 INSPIRED PEOPLE SPRING 2021
In every community, there are those among us who lead by quiet example. They seldom hold positions of power, nor do they have a title or any official designation that distinguishes them from their neighbors. Yet they are often the ones who, having found their own inspiration, serve to make us better people and a better community. The spark of imagination they ignite through the pursuit of their own dreams, passions and curiosity can spread down the street, through a neighborhood, across a community. Their stories are an inspiration and in the telling of their stories, others may be similarly inspired. In each edition, Progress tells the story of three of the “Inspired People” of our community.
KATHY KADDEN
When health issues forced Kathy Cadden to leave her position at Mississippi University for Women in 2002, she didn’t know what she would do with her time. One thing was certain though:
“I knew I wasn’t going to sit around watching TV or going out shopping every day,” she said.
Inspired by a cousin’s visit to the Ukraine and her story of a young girl she met living on the streets, begging for money to buy food, Cadden began collecting small amounts of clothing and personal items that she shipped to Ukraine.
In almost 20 years, Cadden’s modest effort to help a few kids in the Ukraine has evolved into a major humanitarian organization that has eased suffering on a broad scale to Eastern Europe (“all the ‘Stans’ countries”, she says), Haiti, Africa and, closer to home, Texas and Louisiana, where hurricanes left people devastated.
“I started sending five-pound boxes to Ukraine,” said Cadden, 67. “Now we’re sending 15-to-20 ton cargo containers.”
Operation Ukraine has provided millions of dollars of food, clothing, medical supplies and education material to 27 countries since Cadden sent her first small “care package” to Ukraine.
Along the way, she’s become a genius at logistics through her relationships with the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Air Force, which transports her donations as training opportunities for its cargo pilots. She’s on speed-dial for charities throughout the country, cutting through the international bureaucracy to get needed supplies to desperate people when timing is of the essence.
Cadden said her motivation to help has been something she’s had since she was a child growing up in Monroe County.
“There were always people at our house who needed to eat or even a place to stay”, Cadden says. “My parents took in kids. I remember telling them they should be foster parents because they would be able to get some pay for taking children in. But they told me that they were just doing what Christians should do. The Bible says if you see somebody hungry, feed them. If they are naked, give them clothes. It’s that simple.”
SCOTT REED
As a business owner, Scott Reed has served on his share of boards since he opened his florist shop “Petal Pushers” in downtown West Point 22 years ago.
“Most people like me, when you are asked to serve on a board, you serve a term and look forward to rolling off when the term ends,” said Reed. “But that’s different with my position on the Sally Kate WInters Foundation board. I’ve been on their board for about 20 years now and there’s never been a time when I didn’t want to be involved with them. I will go on serving on that board as long as they want me.”
Reed first became aware of the important void the Sally Kate Winters Foundation fills as a child when his mom was working at the sheriff’s office.
“Back then, when there was a situation where a child had to be removed from a home, often in the middle of the night, they would bring them back to the jail because there was no place to take them until the next morning,” Reed said. “At first, it was just an emergency shelter. Over the years, we have diversified our services. We have a run-away and homeless youth program that serves kids who are not in a safe, healthy place. We also have a transitional housing program to bridge the gap between adolescence and adulthood, where they have curfew and jobs and learn about what it takes to live as an adult. We even have programs for parents and grandparents to help them get their children back into the home.”
Each Christmas, Reed designs a Sally Kate WInters T-shirt which has become the organization’s largest fund-raiser with orders coming in from all over the state.
In addition to his work with Sally Kate Winters, Reed has also served on the West Point Clay County Arts Council board.
“To me, the arts council is a lot more than just sponsoring shows and holding plays and other events,” he said. “It’s really something that ties a community together. I know for me personally, I’ve met some of my best friends through the arts council.”
His work with both organizations, while different in many respects, have a common denominator.
“It’s what small towns do best, come together for a common goal. It makes us a stronger, more connected community.”
MARYANN SHARP
Since Maryann Sharp and her husband, Matthew Sharp, arrived in Columbus in 2018, there hasn’t been a sign-up sheet Maryann’s name isn’t on.
“If my name isn’t on it, it’s because I’m organizing it,” she said. “Some people say i have a habit of doing it all.”
Sharp said part of her motivation involves changing the perception of military spouses.
“There’s a reputation that military wives can be stuck-up and I wanted to break that perception,’ she said. “When my husband joined the military, we were a little older, so I think some of the people here kind of look at me as an aunt, or in some cases, even a second mom.”
Through her role as president of the CAFB Spouse’s Club, Sharp has not only helped make CAFB more welcoming to new military families but the broad Columbus community as well.
Each holiday season, Sharp organizes a cookie program, providing mostly home-made cookies for single airmen who are away from their families. The Spouse’s Club delivered around 8,000 cookies to the airmen around Christmas.
Maryann also organizes the Spouse’s Club raffle to provide scholarships for military families. Outside the base, she solicits donations to area food pantries. This year, she started a program that solicits base personnel to donate household items - anything from kitchen supplies to bed linens, towels, even furniture - to the Golden Triangle Homeless Coalition, which uses the supplies to help stock short-term housing for homeless families.
She is often the first to greet new arrivals at the base, informing them of volunteer opportunities.
Sharp is not the typical bored housewife. In fact, she works full-time as a hair stylist at a Columbus salon.
“Sometimes, I take on more than I can handle and it takes me down if I’m not careful,” said Sharp, 32. “But I get frustrated when I can’t help.”
“Honestly, I just want to help people,” she said. “If I won the lottery, I’d give it all away. I really would. I’ve always been like that. It’s just the way I am.”
STORIES BY SLIM SMITH
PHOTOS BY DEANNA ROBINSON
